Opinion: Democracy in Obama's America

Editorial board member Joe Rago on what President Obama's "You Didn't Build That" speech reveals about his vision for the country. Photo: Getty Images

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... we'll probably go down as the most famous line from the Obama presidency but what the president really mean when he said you didn't build your tells your regular ... senior editorial writer they surgeries Europe since ... the ... one that won all of this clip a little long and that is because this week I at various times the Obama campaign is suggested that the of the present was taken out of context or he didn't mean what he seems to be in but the ... here is the present Obama speaking recently a campaign stop in Roanoke Virginia ... if you're successful you don't ... get the euro ... I know I've always felt that people would think ... well of us think about was the sole smile ... the small people out there ... it must be because I want to order the body of private eyes of ... the hole ... to hide what some people the the ... that view was that ... but while Malone ... no ... with a good teacher someone you love ... it's been a while to quit ... is it unbelievable Americans customer we had been allowed to do well ... somebody invested roads and bridges that you've got a business ... that you don't build the ... somebody else made the rupee solo along with the dark about their ... basic difference it seems to me between Barack Obama and most presidents who've come before or is that there has usually been the sense that what is very special about America is that individuals are able to pursue their dreams that we can ... honor and there are other drive and their creativity in their effort to up ... to forty eight ... year ... he's besides the union bill that which is very direct than the denying of them ... credit for for achievements in the sense that the ... people were just lucky or ... with the benefit of some kind of government favored ... to succeed ... I mean at one level it's time has come so boring that it barely deserves common that no man is an island ... everybody gets held that ... every everybody benefits from from the American system developed ... over the years ... which is really saying you know that the most damning part on the way ... I've read that this is where the recess ... will be in the talent and and hard work and intelligence don't don't have ... done anything with it because ... well there's always other intelligent hard working people out there who want a more wealthier successful ... that the message here is this is really a ... invidious appeal of for for larger government and higher taxes ... essentially if if you're denying that individuals have no wait and see if the Fed no role in their own success ... and of course the government of me and society are entitle to appropriate whatever we want some reason he's really making a ... real moral and philosophical argument in and it's up out of tradition I think ... with with a lot of ... aam U S institutions like self reliance and self government yes ... absolutely no ... there there's been some pushback from the Obama camp this week saying well ... you didn't bill that he was in charge of of the business what he really meant say even though it didn't stop him back to ... what the right to say is that the ... you didn't build all the infrastructure of the other people provided for you but to ... interview again accept what seems like after the facts been trying to clean up the damage ... who actually didn't build ... roads and bridges in this country where the ... money come from to build infrastructure for a walk it's it's interesting to look at all federal taxes now this is income taxes payroll taxes on corporate taxes is borne by individuals you look at it by income Quintiles the the middle income quintile that the ... middle-class properly defined ... actually has a negative tax rate so ... in a tax rate of five percent so what that means is for every dollar ... they they pay in taxes they get a dollar in five cents and benefits ... on getting the word area a graphic showing this area I think to ... I guess the point is basically that these job creators of level two percent of people that he doesn't seem like very much actually pay for the roads and bridges do ... along with of ... what an investor as a virtual business and right now they're finding ... everything the government that's no ... income transfers entitlements ... I'm and everything on present Obama likes to mention my public safety public transportation ... the time all the rest of the things that ... when you think of government that's kind of ... day that we have a government to defend the country and build infrastructure and and everything else that what sort of ... out of key thing is is present Obama strive for more ... redistributed government and what those figures are showing us just how much redistribution we do and his his ... argument is that we're we're not doing enough we don't have an economy ... where where pays off as he puts it in and ... that may or may not be true but but we should ... be ... let's put them back to the Editor The area with design of the valleys of this sort of drive to spread the wealth around of that's already been ... pretty aggressively the option for Ford The Joe thanks for joining sanctions ...